Dresses and Dances

by Nadir

Terror and Love

Moondancer stepped onto the stage. Despite her name, the mare had never danced. She’d never taken ballet. Hell, she had even skipped most of her gym classes, about as uncoordinated as one could possibly be. And now, she’d been asked to walk down a catwalk, something that requires you to exude grace.

Quite frankly, she was fucked.

Still, the lights shone on her, making her feel so damned small. She’d felt this feeling before, back during her first Chem final. No studying, a night without sleep, and a feeling of anxiety taking over and over and over.

Suddenly, her hooves started moving on their own. They clopped against the catwalk as she stepped down it, echoing through the room. All eyes focused on her, Moondancer feeling like the ant on the other side of a magnifying glass. Yet still she walked, on and on, closer and closer to the end of the catwalk.

It’s not like she danced down it, or pranced, or anything artistic like that. Quite frankly, she stumbled down the catwalk, lacking the experience of the actual models. She merely had to stop herself from being a complete disaster, lest she ruin all the work that had gone into making this dress.

And she succeeded, mostly. The crowd didn’t jeer, and she didn’t magically find herself in her undergarments like so many of her dreams seemed to imply. No, it was startlingly normal considering the situation. Finally, she’d reached the end of the walk, a slightly unnatural smile occupying her muzzle as she tried to pose like the model before her. In fact, she’d try several different poses, each of them as stilted and uncertain as the last.

Just like that, it became time to turn around and start back down. Her tail swished as she turned, trying to add some flare to it but not quite sure she managed to land it. The walk back actually felt easier than the one forward, she didn’t have to look at anypony’s face. Then again, it’s not like she could feel much through the darkness, the lights shining directly on her making the contrast all the more heavy.

It could have gone worse, she could have tripped over her dress. Or she could have fallen off the edge of the stage. Hell, she even could have ripped part of it and ruined all the hard work that her best friend had put into it.

Thinking about it only made it worse. Instead of seeing herself from a bird’s eye view, that weird out of body experience, she suddenly felt cramped. How did her body get so small? Why did the dress feel so tight?

She’d nearly made it back, so close, when the proverbial shoe finally dropped. Moondancer tripped, right at the last second. She stumbled forward, the sound of a rip echoing through the room. The ripping noise did get drowned out by the pumping music, but anypony close enough would have definitely heard it.

Tears in her eyes, Moondancer stumbled backstage. She could feel the dress start to come apart. A few gems tinkled against the ground. Without even knowing how she got there, Moondancer found herself in the same chair she’d gotten ready in. Magic pulled at the dress, undoing each and every clasp that she could remember. Her frantic movement felt desperate to get herself out.

Thank Celestia, it didn’t take long. A sob finally broke through her as her magic lay the thing across the top of a mannequin, sight blurring from the tears. Moondancer curled up, pressing into the chair as the tears started to stain her cheeks.

Just like that, somepony suddenly touched her. Not just touched, but wrapped forelegs around. Moondancer could guess who it was, and the wall of cyan hair in front of her face confirmed her suspicions. She wanted to say something, anything to apologize, to make her mistakes right, but nothing would come out. Tears still fell, choking out any words that she tried to say.

But apparently, she didn’t need to start the conversation. Coco did it for her, quiet words coming out ever so silently. “It’s okay. You did great, I’m so proud of you.” The words were so gentle and so kind, yet they didn’t do anything to stop the tears from flowing. If anything, her sadness only spiked from the way that Coco spoke to her.

She’d always been so sweet to Moondancer. All of the favors that Coco had done for her ran through her mind: a job, help with an apartment, late study nights, everything a friend could do and more. What did Moondancer give in return? A shredded, broken dress and a failure in the fashion show. “I’m so sorry,” she finally managed to get out, voice so full of emotion that it very nearly overflowed. “I didn’t mean to, I thought I was doing okay, I just slipped,” she rambled out, the words coming out like a waterfall now that the floodgates had opened.

“Shh, shh,” Coco hushed her, even the sounds careful as could be. “You’re okay. Moonie,” Well, that was certainly new, “you did everything that you could. It really wasn’t your fault that this happened, it’s mine. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that, I shouldn’t have made you deal with this.” While she spoke, Coco’s hug got all the tighter, and belatedly, Moondancer realized that it wasn’t just her crying.

Her eyes opened once more, peeking out nuzzling close. Coco’s eyes reflected her own, the same sadness, the same worry.

They both cared. Moondancer already knew it, but in her own self absorbed sadness, she’d forgotten that Coco had given her all those things for a reason. They were friends, dammit! Another sniffle, but ever so slowly, her own tears started to slow. “You didn’t make me.” Coco sort of did. “I wanted to help you, you didn’t make me. I wanted to help you out and I’m really just, um, sorry that I couldn’t,” Moondancer whispered, nuzzling up against her friend.

Coco whimpered, even as the show went on around them. The music still thumped and Coco’s other models still went on. Yet, for a while, the world zoomed in, just the two of them and nopony else in the entire world. “You’re the best, Moonie. You’re always so nice a-and I just- I really wanted this to work out,” she tried to explain, though the words came out so strangled and choppy.

Moondancer started to come out of that small, dark place that she’d found herself in, a smile finally gracing her lips. “No, you’re the best,” she whispered right back. “Shouldn’t you uh, shouldn’t you be paying attention to the fashion show?” she asked.

Coco separated the two of them finally, just enough for her to look over her shoulder. “Oh,” she managed to get out, a quiet word. “I suppose you’re right. As long as… as long as you’re okay. Moonie, you should go get some water and cool off, okay? You did great and I- you’re my best friend.” For just a second, it seemed like Coco had wanted to say something else but Moondancer had no idea what it could have been.

Still, she nodded her head, sniffling one last time to clear her eyes. “Thanks Coco. I will, you make sure that everything works out, alright? I’ll be back,” she promised. Up from the chair she’d go, one last wave to Coco. She spotted her book off the side still, hair tye before it. That would be levitated over, magicked into her hair to tie it up once more, getting it out of her face and out of the ridiculous style that Coco had left it in.

Well, that was a lie. It had been beautiful, really. Coco’s styling always looked impeccable and even Moondancer had looked good with it. Idly, the girl made her way to the bathroom, the further away that she made it, the quieter it seemed. The noise from the show died down in the halls, and soon, it was just the clacking of her hooves against the tile floor beneath her.

She’d head into the little mares room just as her head started to run away once more. Moondancer would peer into the mirror, looking at the makeup on her face, the last remnants of the hairstyle in her mane. Moondancer almost looked like a different mare entirely, a mare from another life, some kind of alternate universe. She could just imagine herself speaking in some affected accent and quoting poetry wherever she went, or quite literally dancing as an intro.

A snort escaped her at the idea, though it slowly drifted away as more serious thoughts took its place. Her mind’s eye drifted back to Coco, a smile crossing her face once more. A sigh escaped her, and nothing but pleasant thoughts filled her head. They were such good friends, how long had they known each other now? A couple months? Half a year? Somewhere in between all of that.

Thinking about Coco made her feel so warm and fuzzy. Moondancer had never really felt like that before. Sure, she’d had friends. Back in Canterlot she could even call the Princess her friend, along with a few other wonderful unicorn mares from her school days. Still, none of them had made Moondancer feel so amazing every time she saw them.

With a sigh, the unicorn splashed water on her face. Hooves came up, working it against the bits of makeup left. It couldn’t stay on forever or it’d play havoc with her skin. It was also something to do rather than fester in her feelings, thinking about them too much simply messed with her head!

So why was it so damned hard to get them to stop? Moondancer was a master of her own mental domain, she could sleep at will, could switch subjects on a whim, but now that Coco had gotten in her head, she didn’t want to leave.

She thought about all the things that made Coco amazing. Her kindness, her love, her beauty, her absolutely astounding talent with the needle and thread. She had a devotion to her craft that few could rival, even Moondancer didn’t study as hard as Coco. And by Celestia, every time she came into the store with that perfect smile on her face, Moondancer’s heart skipped a beat.

Moondancer knew models, absurdly beautiful ponies that nopony could dare to compare to. She even knew one of the princesses, and yet, none of them made her feel the same way that Coco did. The same warmth didn’t fill up her soul, her heart didn’t skip a beat when she saw the rest of those ponies, it just wasn’t the same and she couldn’t figure out why.

Of course, she’d think about it, and the more she thought about all the romance novels, the more she realized what it could be. She didn’t want to admit it, not just because it didn’t make sense. But what would happen to her relationship if she let this train of thought run it’s course? They were friends, and just friends at that. No guarantee that Coco liked her the same way, and honestly, Moondancer couldn’t have blamed her either way.

Moondancer had to face the facts. Whether she liked it or not, the love bug had bitten her and it didn’t intend to go away. The mare groaned, looking at herself in the mirror with quite the large frown, tail swishing behind her in frustration and annoyance. This was going to take so much time away from her studies, wasn’t it? Studies, work, and now a budding crush, Moondancer absolutely did not have enough time in the day for this!

A sigh escaped her, magic levitating over paper towels, wiping her face off. Time to go back outside, time to rejoin the party, and time to see Coco once more.

Despite it all, she couldn’t wait.

Comments

[Twitchy Ears]

Another sweet chapter. Or bittersweet this time.

[Dashie04]

It was also something to do rather than fester in her feelings, thinking about them too much simply messed with her head!

Moondancer: Curie edition.

It’s adorable how highly she thinks of Coco.

[Natedogg2006]

At least she has realized what it is that's going on. Honestly, if imagine the list of ponies she'd do something like that for begins and ends with coco, as we've seen them in this story so far.

[Nadir]

10760709
It'll get happier, promise.

10761373
They're best friends. Best. Friends. :D
10762854
Yea, there isn't anyone else she'd put herself out there for. She's an anxious baby.